Science, Technology and Society at USC

News & Events

The first decade of the 21st century witnessed a series of highly charged public debates at the intersection of science, technology and society. These debates were characterized by widely divergent views on the role of science and technology in contemporary life. From one vantage, science promised to deliver improvements in collective well-being: better health, cleaner energy, improved knowledge of ourselves. But from another perspective, developments in science and technology provoked widespread anxiety and uncertainty: Would synthetic genomics lead to the creation of deadly new pathogens? Did genetically modified organisms pose invisible threats to the environment or to human health? Were developments in neuroscience and psychopharmacology undermining traditional notions of human agency and reason?

While public officials routinely sought scientific advice in settling policy debates, they often seemed skeptical of its findings – whether about climate change or about guidelines for breast cancer screening. In many cases, economic interests, scientific advice and ethical reflection pointed in divergent and seemingly incommensurable directions. Given the promise of continued scientific and technical innovation, on the one hand, and pervasive public anxiety on the other, these tensions are likely to intensify over the coming decade. And in an era of rapid globalization, such debates will extend across political and cultural borders.

The Science, Technology and Society initiative at USC seeks to develop novel approaches to these contemporary challenges. The initiative will foster individual and collaborative inquiry into the production of scientific knowledge and into the societal impact of technological innovation. The Research Cluster has several components, including graduate training, a postdoctoral fellowship, and an annual research workshop. Over the period from 2010 - 2013, the Research Cluster will focus on three themes: (1) Contested universality: the extension of scientific knowledge and its limits; (2) Transformations of life: the human sciences from the early modern to the molecular age; and (3) Technological futures, past and present.

	New Issue of Limn Available
The most recent issue of LIMN, edited by Stephen J. Collier, Christopher Kelty and Andrew Lakoff, examines the concept of systemic risk. LIMN is available both on line and in print.
	STS Announces Summer Research Fellowships
We’re pleased to announce the following USC graduate students have been awarded STS Summer Research Fellowships. Yasuhito Abe (Communications); Nadya Bair (Art History); Justin Clark (History); Celeste Menchaca (American Studies and Ethnicity). Read More Here.
	STS Welcomes New Faculty Member in Sociology
We are pleased to announce that Katie Hasson will join the STS Research Cluster as of the Fall 2012. Read More Here.

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Science, Technology
and Society

University of Southern California
3620 S. Vermont Ave.
Kaprielian Hall 348D
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2539
Phone: (213) 740-3533
Fax: (213) 740-3535
e-mail: sts@usc.edu